PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SYG

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 VALLETTA 000498 SIPDIS DEPT FOR S/SEMEP DEPT ALSO FOR D, P, EUR AND NEA WHITE HOUSE FOR NSA JONES, ROSS, SHERWOOD-RANDALL, KUMAR E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/15/2019 TAGS: PREL KPAL IS MT SUBJECT: PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SYG URGES "COMPLEMENTARY STRATEGY" FOR U.S. MIDDLE EAST PEACE PLAN INITIATIVES Classified By: Ambassador Douglas Kmiec, Reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (S) SUMMARY. U.S. Ambassador to Malta Douglas Kmiec met November 12 with Mr. Sergio Piazzi, Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM),at Piazzi's request. Piazzi urged U.S. support for and participation in PAM's planned February meeting in Malta on the Jerusalem issue as a "complementary strategy" in support of the Quartet Roadmap and U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell's efforts. Piazzi offered examples of where "Track Two" discussions brokered by PAM might be fruitful, including on the issue of settlements. In a call to PolOff November 14, Piazzi reiterated his request and advised that Deputy Palestinian National Council Speaker Tayseer Qubaa also supported this approach. On a related topic, with regard to upcoming Palestinian Authority elections, Piazzi reported Qubaa's belief that PA President Mahmoud Abbas would remain in office following elections, that an election postponement was not desired but likely, and that Fatah would retain the PA Presidency regardless of who its candidate was. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) On November 12, U.S. Ambassador to Malta Douglas Kmiec (along with DCM and PolOff) met with Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) Secretary General Sergio Piazzi, who has held his current position since April 2007. Piazzi's reason for seeking the meeting was to discuss developments in the Middle East, meetings that PAM has had with parliamentary representatives from the region, PAM's recent trip to Washington, DC, and discussions there, and to encourage the U.S. to participate selectively in PAM-organized meetings as part of a "complementary strategy" in support of the Quartet Roadmap and U.S. Special Envoy Mitchell's efforts. Piazzi sees PAM as a potential venue for "Track Two" diplomacy which could be used to explore potential solutions to problems where direct talks would be premature or counterproductive, and he sees the February meeting on Jerusalem as an opportunity for the USG to support such Track Two initiatives. ¶3. (S) Piazzi expressed a clear understanding of the exclusivity of the Quartet's position as mediator in the �A;MEPP, but suggested that PAM could play a "complementary" role by facilitating discussion of issues which were not ripe for Quartet review. As one example of such a topic, Piazzi raised the issue of Israeli settlements and Arab recognition of Israel. He offered his opinion - based on his contacts with PAM Arab delegates and others in the Arab leadership - that many Arab governments would be ready to recognize "tomorrow," but that some sort of a freeze on settlements was needed to allow them to satisfy internal political demands and public opinion. Noting that the amount of land on which Israeli settlements are situated is relatively small in absolute terms, Piazzi suggested that there was some Arab willingness to negotiate land swaps - of plots with comparable water resources, access, arability, etc. - in order to arrive at an acceptable definition of a "freeze" and fix a new border. This was an issue of such emotional explosiveness, however, that it likely could not be resolved solely within the Quartet framework. PAM could provide its good offices in a "Track Two" scenario to bring together influential parties from both sides who could develop a consensus within their own countries for the general outline of what such a swap would look like before it was brought to the Quartet for discussion. ¶4. (C) According to Piazzi, PAM would be a productive and successful venue for such discussions because it enjoys the support of both Israeli and Arab/Palestinian parliamentarians, can count on high-level attendance from both sides, and has been successful in brokering such talks in the past. He cited the example of recent discussions on the Cyprus issue and special task forces PAM has established to support the last point. Piazzi stated that PAM has Arab (and in particular, Syrian) confidence as an honest broker for discussions of issues related to the Middle East Peace Process (MEPP). With respect to Israeli participation, he noted the presence at PAM meetings of current Arab Likud/Kadima party MP and former Deputy Knesset speaker Majalli Wahabi. Per Piazzi, Wahabi's presence at PAM VALLETTA 00000498 002 OF 002 meetings has been accepted by Arab delegations and has not prompted walk-outs, even by hard-line states such as Libya and Syria. Israeli parliamentarians have also indicated to PAM that they will be participating in the February meeting on Jerusalem in Malta. Prior high-level PAM participants have included Turkish PM Erdogan during discussions on Cyprus, and Egypt has reportedly suggested that President Hosni Mubarak would be willing to attend or meet on the margins of a PAM meeting if circumstances warranted. Piazzi also reported he had received some U.S. support for this approach, from U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (MD),U.S. Representatives Robert Wexler (FL) and Darrell Issa (CA),and from NSC staffers. ¶5. (S) On related matters, Piazzi indicated he had been told by Arab delegates that the current Israeli position on East Jerusalem was unacceptable to both Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, because it would split any Palestinian state into two parts, making it unsustainable. He also indicated that his Egyptian, Palestinian and Syrian interlocutors had expressed "disappointed" at recent statements by Secretary Clinton, but that President Obama had "fundamentally changed the perception and sentiment of Arab States toward the U.S." by his remarks in Cairo and other action. Piazzi urged that the U.S. should take advantage of that shift to urge bold action now, as the impact was likely to fade with time. ¶6. (S) Following up in a call to PolOff on November 14, Piazzi advised that he had phoned Deputy Palestinian National Council Speaker Tayseer Qubaa, who offered his support to PAM's approach. Qubaa also emphasized the importance of not interfering with the Quartet process, but viewed PAM's "complementary" mechanism as an opportunity to reinvigorate the MEPP and get the parties to "commit to stand by what they have already agreed to." With regard to upcoming Palestinian Authority elections, Piazzi reported Qubaa's belief that PA President Mahmoud Abbas would remain in office following elections, that an election postponement was not desired but was likely, and that Fatah would retain the PA Presidency regardless of who its candidate ultimately was. ¶7. (C) Ambassador advised Piazzi that Post would pass his suggestions to Washington, and urged him to continue to avoid any action which would be seen as injecting PAM into Quartet discussions. If U.S. participation in PAM's February Malta conference is contemplated, post is prepared to assist. ¶8. (S) COMMENT: (S) Ambassador has had several conversations with the Palestinian Ambassador to Malta and with Suha ARAFAT (widow of Yassir Arafat). Increasingly, these conversations indicate a sense of loss of confidence in President Obama,s ability to carry out the spirit of the Cairo speech. Both Palestinian sources are "distressed" that the President does not seem to have personally committed to the peace process, for both conclude that had he done so, he would have secured by now some tangible improvement in the situation in the Gaza, especially with the onset of winter and the reported continued Israeli interdiction of basic foodstuffs and building materials. These Palestinian sources are also less optimistic with respect to the continued role of a moderate voice like Abbas, or according to Arafat, Salam Fayad. These Palestinian sources expressed strong support for the PAM conference as a complement to the Quartet process, and in addition, both would favor greater UN involvement, especially as it relates to the rebuilding of basic infrastructure in Gaza supported by UN relief funding. KMIEC